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Distribution

Range Description

Montane Africa (to East and South Africa) and Madagascar. This species is one of about ten Pan-African montane tree species (including e.g., Agauria salicifolia, Ilex mitis and Myrica arborea) and is not remotely in danger of extinction, so long as some montane forest survives somewhere within its enormous range.

An unofficial appeal against this listing was published in The Plants of Mount Cameroon. A Conservation Checklist by Martin Cheek (1998). In this he argues that the species is not remotely in danger of extinction, so long as some montane forest survives somewhere within its enormous range. He suggests a rating of LR/nt at best. Further consultation with all parties concerned is required.

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Threats

Harvesting of bark for the European medicinal market. On Mt Cameroon as with some other areas within the range of this species, many trees have died as a result of girdling caused by bark removal. The bark from the trees on Mt Cameroon is transported to the Plantecam factory at Mutengene where it is extracted to produce a powder for export to a company in France. A great deal of attention, and funding has been paid by International Conservation organizations to investigate and address this harvest and perhaps for this reason the species has received a high conservation rating. In the opinion of this author, it merits a "Lower Risk, near threatened" at best.